About us

Never before have corporate and government decision-makers had access to as much data as the basis for their decisions, as they do today. Yet, it’s never been as difficult to take all the relevant influencing factors and available information into account, when making decisions in an increasingly complex environment. It’s harder to consistently make the right decisions, without using intelligent tools to support your decisions.

Can artificial intelligence (AI) methodologies prevent people from making avoidable mistakes by better analyzing the available information?

As one of the AI pioneers in Germany, this is something we strongly believe. Our vision is that “no one must ever make wrong decisions again” and our new mission is derived from this vision: “utilize all information to provide the right recommendations”.

To do so, Empolis systems analyze terabytes of data in milliseconds so that users can always make the right decisions or digital assistants support you with them. They help us provide the right information to the right person to the right device at the right time in any given context according to our motto: DECIDE. RIGHT. NOW.

Our software represents comprehensive creation, management, analysis, intelligent processing and provision of all relevant information needed for business processes, regardless of source, format, user, location or device. Content created and managed in a component content management system are uniquely combined with mined and generated knowledge about products, customers, their profiles, suppliers, and much, much more, in a knowledge management system, to deliver intelligent, smart information and unparalleled added value. Decision-makers, employees and customers reliably receive precise and relevant information, situation-appropriate and task-relevant.

In addition to the traditional model of on-premise software licenses, we also provide Software as a Service (SaaS) for the full range of Empolis solutions.

Empolis utilizes innovative artificial intelligence technologies to enable our customers to provide new services in the area of big data analytics or to evaluate or adapt new business models.

This know-how is substantiated by numerous awards. Find a complete list here.

DECIDE. RIGHT. NOW. – EMPOLIS

Management

Empolis is the leading provider ofSmart Information Management software. Many notable national and international companies and public sector institutions rely on Empolis solutions, based on more than 25 years of industry and process experience.

Dr. Stefan Wess
CEO & Executive Partner

Dr. Stefan Wess holds a PhD in Computer Science and is a highly recognized technology industry expert with many years of international experience in the area of company management. Stefan is an acclaimed speaker and author and has published numerous books and articles on the topic of “Artificial Intelligence”. His professional career includes roles as the technical manager of the U.S. AI-provider Inference Corp. (acquired by eGain Inc.). He was a member of the executive board at tecmath AG (Avid today) and also CEO for tec:inno. From 2000-2008, Stefan was CTO and later CEO of a Bertelsmann arvato AG subsidiary in Gütersloh, Germany, as well as CEO of arvato Middle East in Dubai. He later became a member of the Attensity Group management board, based in Palo Alto, out of which Empolis Information Management GmbH was spun off as an independent company in 2012. Stefan is a member of the DFKI (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence) Board of Directors, as well as for RS Media in Singen, Germany and Trustee of the Fraunhofer Institute. In his free time, he is a passionate motorcyclist and still remains a computer nerd at heart…

Dr. Christian Schulmeyer
COO & Executive Partner

Dr. Christian Schulmeyer´s responsibilities not only include the further development of the company’s successful business model, but also in opening up new markets and expanding strategic cooperation with other leading companies. Schulmeyer, an industrial engineer, came to Empolis from Telekom Deutschland GmbH, where he served as external project manager for Telekom’s Internet shop and its help and support portal. He gained further experience in the areas of service and customer care management through international projects for T-Online International AG (which has since been reintegrated into Deutsche Telekom AG) and Bosch Telecom GmbH, among others. In addition, Dr. Christian Schulmeyer and his company, Schulmeyer & Coll, have been active for many years in the fields of software and the Internet, consulting on issues of management, technology and strategy.

Dieter Deffert
Vice President Channel Business

Dieter Deffert is responsible for the channel and partner business of Empolis. During his time as a mathematics student (with a minor in business administration and a special focus on computer science), Deffert acquired his first professional experience as a software developer at IBM and eps Bertelsmann (now Empolis). Beginning in 1994, he held various positions at those companies which took him from software development to project management, product management and, ultimately, department management. Another important stage of his career was the operational management, from 2006 to 2009, of the THESEUS Program Office, which was then the largest IT support program in Germany and had a total budget of over 200 million euros. In 2010, Deffert joined the management of AWEK AG in Barsbüttel, where he was responsible for product sales and software development of retail solutions. With the spin-off of Empolis in 2012, he returned as a member of the management team and took over business development for strategic customers and projects.

Heino Däkena
Vice President Product & Supplies

Heino Däkena completed a degree in Business Administration at Osnabrück University, focusing on economic informatics and business law. He started his professional career with stints at the international IT consulting and service provision company CSC Ploenzke AG (today CSC Deutschland GmbH) in Hamburg and Vereinigte Verlagsauslieferung, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG. In 1997, he then joined a predecessor company of today’s Empolis Information Management GmbH and has been looking after a great variety of Empolis customers in numerous roles ever since. These roles have ranged from Project Management and Business Development to Key Account Management and finally to his current role managing the Professional Services for our commercial and industrial clients. Heino Däkena’s main sporting interests are football and motorsport. When time permits, he loves riding his “moped” or going angling with friends. Another thing taking up a great deal of his time are the stables and paddocks of the horses that his wife and daughter like to ride.

Andreas Klüter
CTO

Andreas Klüter, who graduated in computer science, has been focusing on the development of innovative systems for intelligent information processing for over 20 years. Involved with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI GmbH) from 1994 onwards, he made a significant contribution to the realization of the worldwide first research prototype “Verbmobil” for fully automated speech-to-speech translation. He also works on multimedia analyses, new methods of artificial intelligence, as well as technical communication. In addition, he has a rich fund of knowledge in the area of healthcare IT from his time as Head of Development of the hospital information system ORBIS, the leading system of its kind in the German-speaking region. As CTO, Andreas is a fervent promoter of agile methods – for software, but with the “lean start-up” method also in the systematic development of sustainable new disruptive business models. Eager to challenge even tried and tested concepts afresh, he plays a vital role in advancing the development of our innovative software products and cloud applications. In his private life, he puts his combination of boundless curiosity and risk awareness to good use in flying gliders and riding motorbikes.

Silke Marby
CFO

Silke Marby studied business administration in Bielefeld. She began her career in 1999 in the corporate Controlling department of itelligence AG in Bielefeld. In July 2009, Marby moved to Empolis GmbH to build up controlling there following the separation from the Bertelsmann Group. Initially, she held the position of Senior Manager Controlling, and one year later, she was appointed Director Controlling. Since July 2016, Marby has held the position of Chief Financial Officer, reporting to the CEO. She controls and optimizes all essential business processes of Empolis GmbH. Marby speaks English and German.

Martina Tomaschowski
Vice President Sales & Marketing

In her role as Vice President, Martina Tomaschowski manages “Sales & Marketing” at Empolis; she has over eighteen years of professional marketing and sales experience with smart information management systems in the areas of knowledge and content management. Earlier in her career and after completing a degree in Business Administration, Ms. Tomaschowski held a number of specialist and management positions in the capital goods and automotive supply industry, as well as at Bertelsmann AG. As a management board member, Ms. Tomaschowski contributes significantly to Empolis’ positioning as a cloud solution provider through countless activities with associations, the press and successful award-winning efforts.

Bidjan Tschaitschian
Vice President Government & Public

Bidjan Tschaitschian manages the Empolis division “Public” as Vice President. He has more than 15 years of professional experience with the implementation of customer solutions using big data technologies and is an expert in Internet and enterprise search solutions. He has overseen the development of various products in these fields and implemented key projects with a variety of customers. Following his computer science studies at Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, he began his professional career at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) with the implementation and management of research projects on behalf of customers